Britain is doubling its development aid to Pakistan and outlining a new strategy for how it is spent, BBC online reports Thursday.
International Development Minister Douglas Alexander is in Islamabad to announce the aid-package of 956 million US dollar over the next three years. The increase will make Pakistan second only to India as the recipient of the UKs largest aid programme worldwide.
The move reflects at least in part Londons concern about the influence of Islamic militancy on Britons of Pakistani origin and its impact on British troops fighting over the border in Afghanistan.
The aid – first agreed in 2006 – will continue to focus on poverty reduction and improving health care. But for the first time it will be extended to the tribal areas along the border, which serve as a base for militants linked to the Taleban and al-Qaeda.
There is also a new emphasis on education, apparently to try and counter the influence of extremist versions of Islam taught in some Islamic schools, or madrassas.
